Zeitarbeit — ein Muster für die Arbeits- und Betriebsorganisation der Zukunft?

Temporary work is often regarded as a model for the future organization of work and companies, i.e. for the connection of flexibility in manpower use and of employment security. Although it only makes up one percent of total employment in Germany this kind of employment relationship indeed indicates general trends in the organization of work: the erosion of the standard employment relationship, the transition from employment contracts to "contracts for sale" of labour and the "hybridization" of labour contracts. Agency work is one way in which modern companies cope with market risks through externalization. While the role of the employee within the organization is replaced through the "dualization of memberships", "Just in time"-missions are the substitute for long-term inclusion. The paper also asks whether the mobility required here matches a trend in the life-style of (post)modern man and it summarizes the effects on the German model of labour in terms ofhybridization, path dependency andadjustment.[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]